Hernán Cortés

Hernán Cortés was born in Medellin, Spain, in 1485.

In 1504, Cortés set sail for Hispaniola and became a colonist. In 1519, he was the leader of the Conquest of Mexico. The main point of the Conquest was to secure Mexico for colonization by conquering the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan. He succeeded, and Mexico became a Spanish colony in 1521. In August 13, 1521, he was elected the governor of "New Spain," as their new Mexican colony was called. This was short-lived, however, and his service ended on he is a bob December 24th of that year.

He died on December 2, 1547. He was about 61 years old.